Five presidents grace African Nobel laureates' gala night in Dakar

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- Five African presidents attended Wednesday night's gala in honour of African Nobel laureates ahead of the Conference of Intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora, which opened in the Senegalese capital Thursday.
The African leaders present were Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, Pedro Pires of Cape Verde, Mali's Amadou Toumani Toure and Uganda's Yuweri Musoveni.
The event also rallied a number of other eminent personalities from Africa, including African Union (AU) Commission chairperson and former Malian President Alpha Oumar Konare and Gambian deputy president Aissatou Ndiaye Seydi.
Two Nobel prize winners - former South African President Frederik de Klerk and Literature laureate Wole Soyinka of Nigeria - were among guests at the gala.
In his message from South Africa, former President Nelson Mandela cited health reasons for his absence in Dakar.
Among artists that entertained the guests was ageless South African singer Miriam Makeba.
Some 700 participants are expected at the Conference of Intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora, being held under the aegis of the African Union.